For Better or Worse
by katesxcoffee
Summary: Rick and Kate thought their wedding was going to be the one they'd been dreaming of, the one they'd been planning for months. "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again, some sunny day."


Everything had been meticulously planned out, from the guest list all the way down to the number of flowers in each bouquet. Rick hadn't minded one bit. He would have stayed up until three A.M every night discussing every detail of their wedding if that's what she had wanted. Whatever it took to make sure that this day was everything Katherine Beckett had been dreaming of since she was a little girl. Of course, to him, it didn't matter who sat at what table or how long the ribbon curls on the back of each seat were - approximately six inches, with a small outward flip to the ends - the only thing that mattered to him was making sure she was happy, that's all that had mattered to him for years now.

Kate had decided, after several long and agonizing months of flip flopping between swatches, to go with gold and white for their main decoration colors. Something she had described as "simple, yet elegant." He couldn't say he had been surprised. He never thought for a second that she would want a fuchsia and lime cowboy themed wedding, or anything of the sorts, though he would have happily given her just that if she had asked.

_Castle woke rather suddenly, the current temperature in the room a little to warm for his liking. If there was something he and his fiancee never agreed on, it was how toasty the room should be. Kate was more of a "I want to feel like I'm burning to death while I sleep" kind of girl. He, on the other hand, preferred the temperature setting she so lovingly referred to as "If you don't turn the damn air off, you can sleep on the couch."_

_His blinked in the direction of the alarm several times, trying to push the sleepiness away long enough to make out the blue numbers that were currently the only light in the room. He had barely managed to make out a four when the rustling of sheets behind him pulled him away from his current task. "Oh thank god, you're awake." Before Rick even had time to register what was happening the bedside lamp was on and there was a wedding book being forced in his face. "These two. What do you think?"_

_"Kate? What are you even doing awake?" He rolled towards her, eyeing her with a rather concerned look. It would seem that wedding planning had finally made her snap. She was staring at his expectantly, lips pursed together in a line that was either trying to hide a smile or keep her from telling him to hurry the hell up, he couldn't really be sure which._

_"Just look at the colors, please!" She stressed the last word, looking at him rather desperately. With one more concerned glance he sat himself up, eyes catching a glimpse of the empty coffee cup on her side of the bed. How many times had she filled that up since he'd fallen asleep? Blinking a few more times, he forced his tired eyes to focus on the book that had been placed in his lap._

_"Um, babe, what exactly is it that I'm looking at?" As much as he wanted all of this to be perfect, was four in the morning really the time to be discussing finger foods and napkins folds?_

_"Oh, for christ's sake. These two colors." Kate's picked up two swatches from the book, holding them to his face. "Gold and an off white color. Something simple, but elegant at the same time. I don't want something too overdone and I really don't want a color that's going to be so bright that it takes away from the actual decorations. I don't know about the white though because my dress will be white and…" Castle looked from the colors and over at his babbling fiancee with such a look of desperation that it stopped her mid sentence. "Oh, I'm sorry. I've had a few cups of coffee since you've been asleep."_

_"Yes, clearly." He responded in a half mumble, leaning up to brush a fallen piece of hair away from her face. "What's got you up at this hour planning all of this, anyhow?"_

Rick shook his head at the memory, lips curving in the smallest hint of a smile. How odd it seemed to think that the day was finally here. After years of wrestling with the most remarkable and maddening woman he had ever met, she was finally going to be right where he thought she'd always belonged - with him. "What's got you so cheesy?" The familiar voice broke him away from his current thoughts and Rick turned to find the smiling face of his lovely mother.

"I was just wondering when you were going to show up, of course." Martha swatted at his chest, rolling her eyes at his all but truthful comment. Her hands immediately went to straightening his tie, eyes roaming over everything but his face. Rick watched her for a moment, trying to decode her sudden lack of eye contact and the way her hands shook against his tie.

"Oh my god, you're trying not to cry already aren't you?"

Martha shot him a dirty look then, her eyes faltering and deceiving her as she met her sons face. Rick couldn't help but pull her into a hug then, arms circling her small frame and pulling her against his chest. "Come on, mother, it's not like I haven't done this before."

"This time you mean it though." Her reply was cool, but her voice was flooded with so much emotion that he nearly crashed himself. She was right. No other woman could ever compare to the way he felt about Kate, hell, even his own mother could see it. They had been through this together twice before, but it most certainly was different this time. Nobody held a candle to Katherine Houghton Beckett.

"Alright, alright you two. Enough with the sappy hugs and whatnot. It's almost time to get this show on the road. Beckett will shoot us all if we're the reason the wedding is running behind."

Rick's smile grew wider as his always level headed daughter entered the room, looking absolutely stunning in the gold dress Kate had spent hours picking out one rainy afternoon in a nearly claustrophobic shop nestled in downtown New York. It still touched Rick's heart that Kate had asked Alexis to be her maid of honor. He assumed it would be Lanie, but when she voiced her opinion of possibly asking Alexis, he knew without a doubt that he was about to marry the most kind-hearted woman on the planet. He thought it was a wonderful idea and thankfully so did Alexis. He knew Kate was trying to make sure Alexis didn't feel like she was being pushed out of her father's life and Rick would forever be grateful for the way his soon to be wife fit right into their family.

Letting go of his mother's back and settling for linking their arms instead, Rick walked towards his daughter, wrapping his free arm around her as well. "You're right. I'm pretty sure she'd spare you two and just shoot me, though."

Both women nodded in agreement, ushering him out the door. "Alright, kiddo. Here goes nothing. We'll see you on the other side." Martha smiled up at him, eyes crinkling with emotion she need not voice, for fear of breaking down and he knew they didn't have time for her to redo her makeup. He could tell she was in a hurry to get the hell out his sight so she could compose herself and Rick couldn't help but tease her before she ran off. "I love you, mother." He whispered, trying his best to keep her gaze. She patted him on the chest in return, lips pursing to once more try to hold herself together. "I know it, kiddo, me too." And with that Martha disappeared into the chapel, wiping her hand briefly across her cheek.

"I guess it's my turn to head in." Rick stated, talking to no one in particular.

"I'm going to go get in place, okay, Dad? You're going to do fine. No cold feet right?" Alexis broke through his thoughts, looking up at him in concern.

"I've waited 5 years for this, I can promise you my feet are toasty warm." He replied, matter-of-factly as his daughter wrapped her arms around his stomach for the briefest of moments. "This is going to be great, Dad. I'm really happy for you."

Then just as quickly as she'd came, Alexis disappeared somewhere behind him, leaving Rick to finally take his stand out front.


End file.
